Saved Folk in the House (13 page)

“Wow, an honest drug dealer,” Nikki said sarcastically.

“Hey, at least nobody got hurt.”

“But somebody will get hurt eventually, Rae. Haven’t you learned anything? How many people have to die before you get it? What is wrong with you? Selling drugs, carrying guns.”

“Nikki, I didn’t go to college, I didn’t finish high school . . . How am I supposed to support my kids? I only weigh one hundred ten pounds, I’m fine as I wanna be, but I don’t like men, so I can’t get paid that way. My street sense and my nine-millimeter are the only things that keep me alive.”

“And my prayers.”

“That’s what I’m saying. How could you leave us?”

“Rae, you’re a responsible adult, and you have to find a better way to survive.”

“Yeah, well, I’m doing the best I can. Living ain’t cheap.”

“Who are you telling? My rent is just as much as a mortgage.”

“Dang, so you’re all settled in?”

“Hardly. We just got here, so we have a lot of work to do.”

“Well, I just called to see if you made it there okay. I’ll let you get to work. Keep in touch, cuz. I really do listen to you when you get your preach on, though.”

“Yeah, right.”

“I do. I’m saved. I said all of those confessions you had me make. I just don’t know how else to make enough money to live and support my kids.”

“Well, at least you’re saved. I’ll talk to you later, cuz.”

Hanging up, Nikki prayed for God to keep her cousin, to show her a better way to live. Rae was a painful reminder that not everything in her life was moving in the right direction. She loved her cousin and felt that talking to her whenever she called would help bring the Lord into Rae’s life in a real way. Nikki shook her head as if trying to get rid of the bad thoughts and ran her fingers through her short dark hair. She jumped out of bed and praised the Lord when she realized this was the first day of her new life. Nikki ran into the girls’ room. They were already awake, unpacking their clothes. She grabbed Mia, picked her up, spun her around, and squeezed her until she squealed.

“Thank You, Lord. We made it! Praise You, Jesus! Glory to God! Hallelujah! Praise You, Father! If I had ten thousand tongues, I couldn’t thank You enough, Father! Praise You, praise You, praise You, praise You, praise You!”

The children were used to their mother “getting her praise on.” She had taught them that her victory was in her praise. They liked it when she was in praise mode. Then they knew everything was all right, not like when she was quiet and deep in thought, playing with her hair with a serious look on her face. They worried when she was quiet and not smiling because it was her nature to smile and talk all the time, especially about the Word of God.

Nikki walked through the apartment, maneuvering around the boxes that the movers had left. The apartment was perfect. During Taj’s spring break, he and Nikki had gone to Atlanta to secure a place to live. They were extremely prayed up. They had been very specific with God in their request about apartment size, location, and environment. Nikki had told Taj, a prayer warrior like his mother, a joke about a mouse coming face-to-face with a lion. The mouse prayed, “Lord, please let this be a Christian lion.” The lion prayed, “Lord, thank You for this food,” and ate the mouse. The mouse got exactly what he asked for. From then on, Taj became very specific in his prayers.

Nikki had taken Taj on her apartment-hunting trip because he was growing into a wise and mature young man. She wanted him to realize how important he was to the family. Taj knew his mother well and was very sensitive to her. In the beginning, his sensitivity was out of survival. To avoid that quick backhand of hers, he had to figure out what he could and couldn’t get away with. But for the past few years, seeing all the stress and pressure she was under, he studied her to learn what he could do to relieve some of her burdens, because he loved her so much.

Good grades made her happy, so Taj made sure he did well in school. Nikki also loved to laugh, so he became quite the comedian, making her laugh so hard her stomach hurt. He was the man now. He knew what she liked, and his job on the apartment-hunting trip was to help her find it. They both knew the Regency complex was the perfect location for them when they first stepped into the unit that would be their home. It was spacious, open, and bright with all the modern conveniences. There was plenty of storage space, and it overlooked the playground so that Nikki could keep an eye on her brood from inside.

“I’m going out to get some breakfast. What kind of croissants do you want?” Nikki asked the children.

“I want bacon, egg, and cheese,” Shay said.

Hearing the question, Taj came into the girls’ room. “Me too,” he chimed in. “Can I have French toast sticks too? I’m going to need some extra energy with all the work we have to do today.”

Such a man. I am so proud of him,
Nikki thought. “Sure, baby. Anything else? Let’s see, hash browns, juice, milk, and coffee for me, of course.”

“That’s it for me, Mommy,” Taj said.

“I want sausage, egg, and cheese,” Mia said.

“Okay, I’ll be right back. Put the chain on the door, and don’t open it for anyone but me,” she instructed.

Nikki was back at the apartment complex in about twenty minutes. She pulled the minivan into a parking space beside a couple just getting out of a Honda.

Oooh, my neighbors,
she thought as she got out and retrieved the bags. She wanted to find out what type of people lived around her. Her experience up until that moment had been that folk in Atlanta were very friendly. There was a lot of southern hospitality in the air, so she felt comfortable approaching the couple.

The man was opening the door to an apartment downstairs. An icebreaking opportunity, she thought.

“Hello, I’m your new neighbor, Nicole Riley, but everyone calls me Nikki.” Her hands were full, so she couldn’t offer a handshake, but she continued. “I hope we didn’t disturb you too much with all the moving yesterday,” she said, smiling from ear to ear, friendliness, excitement, and joy gushing.

They both just stared at her.

Nikki’s first thoughts were,
Why are they looking at me so seriously? He’s nice-looking. What runway did she just step off? She is not his wife. Why aren’t they at work in the middle of a weekday? Mind your business, girl.

After the fashion-model woman finished checking Nikki out from head to toe, she finally said in a serious tone, “Well, you had to move in.”

The man appeared irritated and said nothing.

Nikki sensed the tension and decided not to pursue a conversation.

“Well, have a nice day,” she said, still grinning as she made her way up the steps. The couple just nodded.

The children were waiting in the living room, ready to dig into the croissants.

“Let’s eat!” she said.

They attacked the food like they hadn’t eaten in days. It tasted even better than usual to the hungry crew. After they had eaten every speck of breakfast, they went back to unpacking.

With the sounds from the radio to energize them, the children enjoyed the labor, folding and hanging up clothes and decorating their rooms with their toys and stuffed animals. They sang and danced as they got their new home in order. Once again tired and hungry, they stopped working around seven-thirty and went out for burgers, fries, and shakes. They came home and watched TV until they all fell asleep.

The next morning, Nikki again went out to get breakfast. On her way back, a different person was coming out of the same unit that she had seen the couple go into the day before. He was smiling.

“Hi. How’re you doing?” he asked.

“Fine, thank you,” Nikki said, smiling back, trying to be as friendly as he appeared to be. Although he hesitated as if he wanted to talk to his new neighbor, this was not a good time for her with kids to feed, so she kept walking.

The weather was gorgeous, perfect for a leisurely stroll, so after they ate, Nikki and the children decided to explore their new neighborhood. The friendly neighbor was out washing his car. They exchanged hellos before Nikki and the children started their walk. Taj and Mia led the way while Nikki and Shay hung back and talked.

“How are you feeling, baby?” Nikki asked her older daughter.

“Good. I like our apartment. I miss my friends in Virginia, but I can write them,” Shay said.

“You can even call them on weekends and talk as much as you want, since my cell phone package includes free long distance on nights and weekends,” Nikki said.

“Thanks, Mommy. I can’t wait to make new friends here too.”

“That won’t take you long, precious, not long at all.”

They strolled along, checking out the Mazdas, Volvos, some nice Fords and Chevys, a few Cadillacs, even BMWs. Plants were hanging out on some of the balconies. Children who seemed to be Mia’s age were playing at a second playground on the other side of the complex. She tapped her mother on the arm.

“You want to go meet them?” Nikki asked.

“Maybe later,” Mia said as she simply observed them swinging and playing on the jungle gym.

When they made their way back, the friendly neighbor was removing the wax from his fire-engine-red Mustang. He made eye contact with Nikki, and they both just smiled this time.

The apartment was beginning to look like home. Now that all the dishes were put away, they could give the fast-food restaurants a break and fix a home-cooked meal. The next morning, Nikki went grocery shopping. She let the children sleep and locked the dead bolt, leaving the extra key in the lock on the inside in case of an emergency. She had learned a long time ago not to take the children grocery shopping if she wanted to stay within her budget.

After she got in the minivan, she remembered she had left the shopping list on the kitchen counter. As she headed back toward her apartment, the friendly neighbor came out his door in shorts, a T-shirt, and flip-flops. He was clearly athletic. His skin was the color of black coffee with a hint of cream, and he was about six-two with muscles everywhere. He looked like he didn’t have a care in the world and nowhere to go. Nikki wondered why he wasn’t at work. He looked young enough to live with his parents, but that wouldn’t make sense because she had seen the couple around his age go into the same apartment the other day.

Mind your business, girl,
she thought before saying, “Beautiful day.”

“Sure is,” he responded, flashing a huge smile.

Nikki wanted to ask him what he did for a living, but resisted the urge.

“Well, have a good one,” she said as she ran up to the apartment to retrieve the list. When she came back out, he was reaching inside his glove compartment. He looked up, and they smiled at each other. Then she was gone.

Nikki spent two hundred dollars at the grocery store. That should hold them for at least a week. Yeah, right. She’d have to go back in a couple of days for milk, if nothing else. Taj drank it like it was water. He said he had to grow, and milk was going to make it happen.

When she got back, her neighbor’s red Mustang was gone.
Where’s my smiling, friendly neighbor now to help me take these groceries upstairs?

Chapter Nineteen

T
he children were up and dressed. Each of them made several trips to the car to retrieve all of the grocery bags. After they put the food away, they put the last of the empty storage boxes in the van to take to the Dumpster.

“I think it’s time to check out Way Maker Ministries. If it’s anything like it seems on TV, that will definitely be our new church home,” Nikki informed her crew.

She had been a faithful partner with WMM for almost three years. Tapes and books from the ministry filled her bookshelves in Virginia, since she couldn’t resist ordering just about every product they offered. WMM was a major factor in her choosing Atlanta as their new home.

After calling and getting directions, they all piled into the minivan and made their way to the Dumpster, then the church. Upon arriving at the church, they saw a few people walking around who appeared to work there, but no services were being held, so they decided to leave. Nikki was satisfied that they knew how to get there and that it was a relatively easy trip. They continued to ride around, locating the necessary shopping spots. They ended up on a highway not far from their apartment and saw a mall located off an exit. They checked it out and found it had everything they could possibly need: movie theater, bookstore, and nice places to eat. Having a good sense of their surroundings, they headed for home.

Later that day, Nikki fixed a feast of smothered pork chops, mashed potatoes with gravy, collard greens, corn on the cob, and hot buttered biscuits to offset some of the fast food they had overindulged in. The meal turned out wonderfully. They ate so much, all they could do was fall out in the middle of the living room floor in front of the TV. They watched the Disney Channel until they all fell asleep right where they lay.

The sun rose gloriously on Sunday morning. It seemed to have an extra special shine to Nikki.

“Let’s go!” she shouted in all of her excitement. “I can’t wait to get on the inside of Way Maker Ministries. Come on, kids, get in the van.”

They grabbed their Bibles, pencils, and pads, and the girls brought cute little purses. Shay had done her own as well as her sister’s hair. She was very talented in creating fashionable styles decorated with bows, twists, and ties to hold their braids in place.

During the TV broadcasts, Nikki had noticed how members of the congregation dressed and she knew casual attire would be appropriate. The two girls wore the same-colored sundresses except that Shay’s had flowers and Mia’s had butterflies. Mia’s sandals were flat, but Shay had talked her mother into letting her wear a small heel. Taj looked handsome in his polo shirt, khaki shorts, and closed-toe sandals. Although he and Shay were the same height, she was slightly taller when she wore her heels, forcing him to subconsciously tiptoe when he was next to her. Nikki, too, dressed comfortably in a sundress and sandals. They quickly filed out the door and got in the minivan.

“Buckle up,” Shay instructed.